A number of Premier League clubs currently have lengthy injury lists.
In addition to Diallo, Mainoo and Martinez, United are without Luke Shaw, Mason Mount, Altay Bayindir and Jonny Evans while Manuel Ugarte is also doubtful for the trip to Spurs.
Tottenham have Radu Dragusin, Micky van de Ven, Dominic Solanke, Richarlison and Cristian Romero out, with several other players facing fitness tests.
Arsenal were without Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Ben White, Gabriel Jesus, Takehiro Tomiyasu and Gabriel Martinelli for their 2-0 win over Leicester on Saturday.
Chelsea lost striker Nicolas Jackson to a hamstring injury this week, while Manchester City’s season has also been wrecked by injuries, especially to Rodri. Defender Manuel Akanji is out for an “extended” time, with John Stones, Nathan Ake and Ruben Dias all missing for long periods.
It would appear on the face of it this has been a particularly gruelling season on the injury front, but do the numbers back it up?
Ben Dinnery, founder of Premier Injuries who are a data source for player injuries in the English top flight, said there has actually been a reduction in injuries this season compared to the previous campaign.
“The narrative is that injuries are going through the roof this season, but they are actually not,” Dinnery told Sport’s Football News Show.
“In terms of time loss absence we’ve actually seen a reduction season on season over the same period compared to 2023-24 by roughly 13%.”
However, Dinnery says there has been an increase in muscle injuries such as hamstring strains.
“It’s the type of injuries [getting more severe] and the length of return to play that is taking a little bit longer,” said Dinnery.
“When we took the 2023-24 season in isolation, looking at the previous four on average, we’ve seen an increase in hamstring injuries, certainly at the severe end, by about 65%.
“By severe we mean hamstring injuries that are likely to keep a player out for more than 30 days. That isn’t an outliner, numbers this season are continuing on that trajectory.”
